Sontronics DM-1B, DM-1T and DM-1S drum microphones available to pre-order

Time+Space has announced the release of the DM-1B, DM-1T and DM-1S, three new microphones for drums by Sontronics.

Six years after Sontronics was founded, the British mic brand has moved further into application-specific miking with the release of three condenser microphones designed specifically for drums: the DM-1T, DM-1S and DM-1B.

Sontronics DM condenser mics

The DM-1T and DM-1S are small-diaphragm pencil-style condensers designed to work on tom (DM-1T) and snare (DM-1S). With a cardioid polar pattern and switchable -15dB pad, the characteristics of each mic have been tailored to pick up those specific nuances from the different drums. Each mic comes with a metal drum mount and mic clip.

The DM-1B is a large-diaphragm, end-fire condenser mic that can cope with up to 150dB (with the -15dB pad switched in) and comes in an aluminium flightcase. DM-1B is designed specifically for kick drum but also gives impressive results on bass instruments and bass guitar cabinets.

Designed from scratch by Sontronics founder and MD, Trevor Coley, these new mics represent more than two years of research, development and field testing. “Many of our existing mics work brilliantly on drums,” explains Coley, “but I felt that it was about time we made some dedicated mics for drummers and percussionists. I spent a long time researching how each component of a drum kit responded when struck – kick beater attack, kick thump, snare rattle, resonance, boominess and so on – and optimised each mic’s frequency response to deliver a great result with little or no EQ.”

As is usual with all Sontronics mics, the DM-1T, DM-1S and DM-1B have been tested to destruction before launch, so you can be sure they’ll perform perfectly, whether in studio or live sound applications. “The first prototypes were tested by various session drummers and producers,” says Coley, “including producer Flood (U2, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys) at Battery Studios, who discovered that DM-1B also gives great results on bass guitar cabs!”

The DM-1T, DM-1S and DM-1B are all covered by SONTRONICS’ Lifetime Warranty and come with a free download of Toontrack’s EZdrummer Lite. All three microphones are available for pre-order now and will be in the shops late February.

DM-1T and DM-1S will each cost around £119.99 GBP, the DM-1B will cost £299.99 GBP.